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2.5: Rooting Out the Underdogs
The sixth session of The Brazen Helm. Played in October 2017. The Party * Eadmund, Human Magus * Sheng Háldott, Human Inquisitor * Wilhelm Widalis, Gnome Somaturge Journal Rude Awakenings 28th of Oak Moon, 1985 – Red Dragonfly, Dewport, Ceraris The morning after their fight with the smugglers, Wilhelm and Sheng are woken up by Eadmund literally banging on a pot in the hallway (not having slept at all as usual, thanks to his Keep Watch spell). Wilhelm just presses his pillow over his head, whereas Sheng bolts out of his room and shoots the pot out of Eadmund's hand. Sheng: ”What the hell are you doing!? I don't know about you elves or whatever you are, but we humans need sleep!” Eadmund: ”Hey, I'm a human too!” Sheng: ”Yeah, as if!” Amanda, shouting from downstairs: ”Did those two get up yet?” Amanda has been living and working at the Dragonfly for a couple of days now, having decided to leave her job at Hunley's after he got more and more paranoid ever since the incident. She's a much better housekeeper than Reddy, that's for sure – she can actually cook, for one thing. Sheng and Eadmund head downstairs to eat bacon and eggs (a real luxury compared to Reddy), and even Wilhelm sends his golem to fetch him a plateful. They spend a while eating, Sheng taking every chance to clumsily flirt with Amanda. She seemingly ignores it, but doesn't seem to mind either. Suddenly they hear loud knocking from the back door, stopping after a short burst. Nobody is in too much of a hurry to answer, and Sheng even grabs a pint of beer from Reddy before finally heading there. Opening the door, he finds a half-conscious orc sitting against the wall, muffled and bound. On the orc's chest is a paper note, which Sheng reads out loud to the others. It says in a careful cursive: ”Ask me about the Greatclub”. It doesn't take them long to guess this is probably Cintia's doing again. Eadmund recognizes the orc as one of those he and Wilhelm caught last night but that ended up running off somewhere. Wilhelm heads downstairs too, wondering what the ruckus is all about. While he and Eadmund wait inside the back room, peeking out the door, Sheng kneels over the orc and shakes him awake. Sheng: ”Well then, what do you remember?” Orc, clearly still groggy: ”Urrh... I remember having a real rough night.” Sheng: ”Rough night doing what, partying?” Orc: ”Oh, something like that. I do remember seeing ya somewhere.” Sheng: ”What exactly were you doing at the river?” Orc: ”Nothing but a completely legit business transaction.” Sheng isn't very convinced. He pulls out two daggers and places them both on the orc's throat: ”You better start giving me reasons not to kill you.” Eadmund: ”Hey Sheng, we already have plenty of reasons not to kill him! We can't get any info if –” Not wanting Eadmund to cramp his style, Sheng slams the door shut and leans on it while talking to the orc: ”We know you were smuggling, and without the Tailor's permission at tha–” Nobody ever told him the door was gonna roll him, but Sheng is sent tumbling as Wilhelm's golem pushes it open. Just seeing the golem is enough to make the orc lose any remaining sass and promise to talk as long as it doesn't beat him up again. Sheng is unhappy with the method, but content with the results at least. The orc reveals that after they managed to slip free of the ropes, they all ran their separate ways, but he got caught by some strange lady with a big crossbow who knocked him out and dragged him away. She threatened to torture him, but he wasn't even all that hesitant to tell her that the goblinroot they smuggle is primarily sold at a tavern known as the Greatclub, and then he woke up here. The Knights can only assume he was brought over by Cintia. How nice of her. Eadmund is elated to notice that the orc is actually bound with his precious rope he thought he'd lost for good. The others just roll their eyes. They ask the orc about the bugbear corpses in the crates, but he wasn't aware of them at all, and hasn't even visited the headquarters, or wherever the wares go. The shop the Knights attacked last night was indeed just a dropoff point, and the smugglers operate in mostly independent groups. The leader of the whole thing is Bangul Irontooth, big brother of Randor who was killed at the shop yesterday, but the orc doesn't know anything about his whereabouts. He seems quite nonchalant throughout this whole exchange, and the Knights even give him some breakfast. Apparently he's been planning to get out of this operation anyway, ever since it occurred to him that they're operating under the Tailor's radar, and this is as good a time as any to leave town. The Knights relax a lot too, even Sheng. Eventually, once it seems that they've gotten everything they can out of him, they decide to let him go, having been so cooperative and all. As he's running off down the street, Eadmund dashes out and shouts after him: ”WAIT! WHAT'S YOUR NAME!?” The orc, vanishing into the distance: ”Biiiiiiiiiil!” Eadmund jots down ”Biil” in his personal notes. He can only hope he got the spelling right. Clubbin' and Clobberin' There's some debate among the Knights about what exactly they're even after. Sheng humbly suggests taking the goblinroot stockpile and selling it themselves, for instance, or giving it to the Tailor to win his favor. The others don't seem too enthusiastic about these ideas, though, especially Eadmund. They ultimately don't come to a very clear consensus, but decide that they should at least investigate this whole thing. That evening, they head to the Greatclub. Sheng has actually visited before, and knows where it's located in the River Quarter. It turns out to be a somewhat seedy but cheerful tavern, with a high proportion of orcs and goblinoids in the customer base. Their attention is soon drawn to a door to a backroom, guarded by a large orc. Sheng looks around the loud, crowded hall, and finally finds what he's looking for: Seth, a half-orc acquaintance of his. This Seth is drinking in the back of the room with his heavy flail resting on the table, and gives the Knights a warm welcome, offering them his ”water” (obviously some sort of clear liquor). Sheng plays along for a bit, asking what it'd take for them to get into the back room. Not much, apparently: all they need is the recommendation of a regular, such as Seth himself. He is happy to help them get past get the bouncer, pleased to get some ”fresh blood”. Seth: ”The first rule of Greatclub: Tell all your friends about Greatclub!” As they step into the back, the Knights find themselves in a large room dominated by an elevated boxing ring, surrounded by a cheering, jeering crowd. Inside the ring they see a muscular hulk of a man, at least 8 feet tall, with craggy gray skin speckled with dark-red stripes. Eadmund recognizes the man as a goliath, an uncommon race from the mountains of his homeland. On top of this goliath they see an orc climbing all over him, literally foaming at the mouth and trying in vain to make him budge. After letting him try for a moment, the goliath grabs the orc by the arm and starts bashing him against the floor. Seth goes back to drinking and leaves the Knights to their own devices. They whisper to each other and come to a mutual understanding that this underground (?) fight club is probably where the goblinroot is sold; the berserk (though now unconscious) orc is a further hint in that direction. However, they'll have to take a while longer to dig out more details. They approach a corner of the room, where a bored-looking halfling is leaning on a small desk. Seeing some customers approach, she perks up a bit. Halfling: ”Hello, and welcome to the Greatclub! The name's Harriet, good to meet ya. Are you gentlemen in the mood for a little gambling this fine evening?” Wilhelm: ”What's with the big guy?” Harriet: ”Oh, you mean him?” They glance at the goliath just in time to see someone drag the beat-up orc out of the ring. ”Yeah, that's Stoneman, the current champion. Just showed up and beat the shit out of everyone. Real fun at first, but getting old by now. Kinda hurting my business, actually, since people are losing hope that anyone could win against him. But hey! That means there's big returns in store if someone does beat him! Wanna make a bet?” Sheng is rubbing his chin with a mischievous smile, an idea clearly forming in his head. ”Tell me, what are the rules?” Harriet: ”No weapons, no killing... on purpose, anyway. Anything else goes.” Sheng hops up on Harriet's desk and calls out in his best announcer voice: ”Laaaadies and gentlemeeeen! I am told this mighty Stoneman here has been the champion of your league for a while now, but also that you're up for a little change in your life! Worry not, for this change is here! A new challenger has arrived!” The other Knights seem confused and blissfully unaware. Wilhelm: "Sheng, this better not be what I think it is." Sheng: ”Heeeeere's Eadmund!” Wilhelm: "Phew." Sheng shoves the baffled Eadmund forward, grabbing the sword from his belt. Eadmund only puts up a feeble resistance, stuttering some sort of argument but crawling into the ring anyway. Sheng turns to Harriet: ”What's the odds? 1 to 10? I bet 500 silver on my pal Eadmund right here!” Eadmund is standing in the ring without his sword, surrounded by an enthusiastic audience. He's still wearing his chainshirt and all, but they don't seem to care too much, as long as they get a good fight. Stoneman stands in the opposite corner of the ring, eyeing him up and down. His expression has been the same neutral frown all this time, and it remains unchanged as he points at Eadmund and speaks in a thick accent. Stoneman: ”Little man. Are you ready to veel pain?” Eadmund: ”Uh... yeah! Big man...!” Sheng waits by the ring, shouting words of encouragement. As the bell rings and the fight has officially begun, Stoneman stays in his corner and waits for Eadmund to make the first move. He decides to cast Enlarge Person, growing 12 feet tall, even bigger than his goliath opponent. The audience seems taken aback but excited by this change of events, while Stoneman is unfazed. Eadmund charges forward, swinging his fists wildly. He may be a decent fighter, but not exactly a boxer by trade. He manages to ”land” a blow or two, but Stoneman returns with a right hook straight to the face that hits like a freight wagon and sends his stumbling backwards. Sheng tries to shout a warning, but Eadmund has no time to react before another blow takes him in the stomach. Eadmund falls back towards his corner, and Sheng tosses him a blinding eggshell grenade, but Eadmund has neither the time nor composure to use it before Stoneman grabs him and finishes him with a gorgeous overhead suplex that knocks him out cold, less than half a minute into the fight. As Eadmund starts to shrink back to his normal size, Sheng sheepishly drags him out of the ring and pokes him with the wand of Lesser Vigor while lamenting the loss of his money. It seems Sheng had honestly expected a victory. For some reason. Even then, that fight still helped them blend in, in a sense of the word. He leaves the groggy Eadmund in the gentle care of Wilhelm, who honestly doesn't know why he's even here, and goes to scout out the crowd. It doesn't take long for him to spot a somewhat scrawny half-orc peddling something in the audience. The half-orc notices him as he approaches. Dealer: ”Ooh, I saw your friend's fight back there! Real close one, that was! He almost had that Stoneman bastard! Just a little more...” Sheng: ”Sounds like you have something just for that.” Dealer: ”Oh, I do indeed!” Even though it seems to be an open secret, he starts talking a bit more quietly and trying to act almost comically... secretive. ”Y'see, I have this little herb here, straight from overseas. Goblinroot it's called, makes you fight like a real animal. Gives just the edge you need.” The dealer points in the direction of the ring, where another roaring orc is charging Stoneman. ”Just 50 silver a piece! Why not give it a try, eh?” Sheng: ”You got yourself a deal! I'll take thirty.” The dealer blinks in disbelief. ”O-Oh, pleasure doing business with you, but I don't have that much on me. I'll have to make the arrangements, fetch some more stuff, confirm this sorta big deal upstairs... Can't go throwing it around willy-nilly.” Sheng: ”Fetch? From where?” The dealer looks a bit apprehensive, like he's said too much: ”Oh, you know I can't tell you that. Tell you what, meet me here a week from now. Same time, same place. I'll have your package by then. We can negotiate a bigger partnership too, perhaps?” They shake hands to seal the deal, nothing but smiles on both sides. Sheng turns away, stealthily pumping his fist in satisfaction. Everything's going according to plan. He explains it to the other Knights as they hang around, waiting for the tourney to wind down and keeping an eye on the dealer from across the room. So-Called Stealth With his newly-learned Bloodhound spell granting him a canine sense of smell, Sheng makes sure to memorize the dealer's scent. When he eventually leaves the tavern, slinking out a back door, the Knights wait for a few minutes before following after him. Sheng has no trouble tracking the smell of the half-orc and his bitter, ginger-like goblinroot across the mostly deserted streets. The dealer seems to have taken a winding route, but it eventually leads to a large, seemingly abandoned building about five blocks away. They recognize the symbol above the front door as that of the Guild Alliance; Eadmund recalls reading that the Alliance used to operate here in the River Quarter before moving to its bigger and safer location in the Smoke Quarter some decades ago. The windows are boarded up and there's no light or life to be seen, but the scent trail definitely leads to a locked side door. They walk around the building, but there's no obvious entrance in sight, so they find themselves at the front door once more. Wilhelm: ”Oh no, a sturdy wooden door! How are we ever getting past this insurmountable barrier!” Cut to ten seconds later, with the door mysteriously gone and Wilhelm riding a new oaken golem with snazzy iron knuckles. Inside, they see a long dining hall lined with tables and seats, but it's completely dark and lifeless. Wilhelm's darkvision can't quite reach the end of the room, but they can hear the obvious sound of someone scuttling away in the shadows. Suppose that cat's out of the bag. There's no other immediate response to their intrusion, though, so the Knights decide to skulk a bit before any alarm is raised. There are some doors into side rooms, including one which should be behind the door the dealer's scent trail lead to. They decide to sneak in that direction, Wilhelm and his golem being the only ones who can really see anything. They quietly enter the room and find themselves in a small living space with a lone orc sitting there, guarding the door to the outside with his back towards them. The Knights cast Light, open fire and charge into the room. The orc is taken by surprise and sent toppling backwards onto a table, going down quickly but making quite a racket. Nevertheless, the Knights do a quick check-up of the room, Sheng finding a stash of booze in a small chest that he makes a mental note to grab on their way out. However, while they're doing that, a shadowy figure appears in the doorway to the main hall. He shouts something in Orcish, flings some sort of poorly-aimed wind spell (striking nothing) and releases three ravenous lizards into the room before scampering back into the shadows. The bipedal feathered beasts are the size of large wolves, and recognizable as ”claw lizards” (deinonychi), hunting animals imported from Gatagor. Wilhelm is caught dismounted and Sheng is ill-suited for close combat, and they're taken off-guard by this attack in a small room. Wilhelm in particular is quite badly wounded by the initial pounce (a rare occurrence that shocks him deeply), but Eadmund and the golem manage to hold their own and buy the other two enough time to slink off into better positions and return fire. Eadmund slices a lizard in half and the rest of the pack is slain soon after. The Knights pursue the orc, but not before taking a quick break to heal first. They know they're giving their enemies more time to prepare – this has clearly gone from a break-in into a full frontal assault – but no can do. If the lizards' purpose was to buy time, they were certainly successful. In the direction the orc seemed to run off into, the Knights find a spiral staircase leading downstairs. They enter the darkened basement, their Light spell making their position quite obvious, but they don't really have a choice in that either. They stick close to the walls as they make their way down a corridor, hearing faint noise from the distance. Eadmund is the first to step around a corner, only to be met by a massive ballista bolt barreling his way. To his luck, the hastily aimed bolt ”only” scrapes a deep wound in his side and buries itself in the wall behind him. He quickly stumbles back into safety, allowing Sheng to give him another dose of healing while Wilhelm peeks around the corner through the golem's eyes. Behind the corner is a wide hallway, and the end of said hallway is a bona fide ballista on a swivel platform, operated by three men and currently busy reloading. Four more stand in waiting, including the dealer and the orc they saw upstairs. After taking a second to agree on their plan – not that it's a very complicated one – the Knights send the golem to lead the charge. The ballista fires again, but the bolt only manages to break off a couple splinters and be deflected off to the side, while the golem keeps running and both sides prepare to engage... Category:Lorelm Category:Kampanjat Category:Content Category:English